Table of Contents: Volume 19 (1) 2020 (published 29 May 2020)

Paternal care in rodents: Ultimate causation and proximate mechanisms Gromov V.S. P. 1-20 The evolution of paternal care in rodents has intrigued biologists for over decades. In this paper, both ultimate (adaptive significance, evolution) and proximate (ontogeny, mechanisms) questions related to the emergence and maintenance of male paternal care are reviewed. Paternal care is thought to be a consequence of social monogamy, but no definitive hypothesis adequately explains the evolution of paternal behavior in rodents. The onset, activation and maintenance of paternal care are shown to be governed by complex interactions in neuroendocrine systems that change during ontogeny. Depending on the species, different components of male experience as well as different exogenous cues are likely to be involved in the organization and activation of paternal behavior. Several hormones, including steroids (testosterone, estradiol, progesterone) and neuropeptides (prolactin, vasopressin, oxytocin), are involved in the onset, the maintenance, or both the onset and the maintenance of parental behavior, including direct paternal care. The effect of testosterone was found to be not universal and, moreover, species-specific. As for estrogens and neuropeptides, further investigations are needed to better understand the role of these hormones in activation and maintenance of rodent paternal behavior. Current research shows that male parental care in rodents is, to a great extent, an epigenetic phenomenon, and future studies will focus on the epigenetic modifications that can affect the paternal behavior in rodents. Details    Download PDF

Acoustic communication in four species of subgenus Alexandromys (Rodentia, Cricetidae) Rutovskaya M.V. P. 21-36 The acoustic communication in four species of voles of the subgenus Alexandromys (Microtus oeconomus, M. limnophilus, M. maximowiczii, and M. middendorffii) includes two signals: squeaks in the context of discomfort, and singing during courtship for the female. Comparison of signal parameters shows a rather large similarity in the structure of sounds, especially between the lacustrine and Middendorfs voles, the squeaks of which have almost no differences in characteristics when using discriminant analysis. The most different in the squeak parameters is the root vole, which has recently been included in the subgenus Alexandromys. Singing is the most characteristic element of sexual behavior among species of the subgenus along with other behavioral characteristics of species and is used by animals more often than voles of subgenera Microtus and Sumeriomys. Details    Download PDF

Spiral-horned antelopes of the Early Pleistocene Tamanian faunal complex of Eastern Europe Vislobokova I.A., Titov V.V. P. 37-44 The current evidence confirms the presence of only one species of spiral-horned antelopes, Pontoceros ambiguus, in the Tamanian (late Early Pleistocene) faunal complex of Eastern Europe. The re-study of fossil materials revealed that the horn core from the Tsimbal locality (Sennaya) on the Taman Peninsula (Russia), previously identified as Tragelaphus sp., belongs to an antelope of this species. Details    Download PDF

Does the geometric and linear morphometry of the brain reflect the divergence in the "guentheri" group (Arvicolinae, Sumeriomys)? Zorenko T., Kagainis U., Barashkova L. P. 45-57 The purpose of this work is to investigate the divergence of the brain size and shape of three voles taxa of "guentheri" group using geometric and linear morphometric analysis. The obtained data show that the sex factor does not affect the brains linear parameters and shape of the studied taxa that indicates a weak effect of the sexual selection on morphological adaptation and variability of the brain structure. The linear measurements of the investigated taxa differ significantly by all signs (24 parameters). The obtained data indicate that the divergence of Microtus guentheri and M. hartingi is the most significant (92%) that obviously is associated with ancient isolation of this species by Anatolian Diagonal. The differences between the two subspecies (M. hartingi hartingi and M. h. lydius) are much smaller — 63%. It should be noted that the vole of the Strandzha Mountain — M. h. strandzensis differs from the M .h. hartingi and M. h. lydius significantly more — 82 and 75%, respectively. These differences may reflect the history of the investigation of voles from Anatolia to Europe. Geometric deformities of the brain of all taxa are found. Analysis of canonical variations showed that all three taxa differ significantly, both laterally and dorsally. Comparison of taxa lateral views showed that M. h. lydius brain is more flatten than M. h. hartingi, but M. guentheri has a broader brain and a smoother outer olfactory tract as well as smaller olfactory bulbs. By dorsal view, deformation of M. guentheri brain at the attachment sites of the cerebellum hemisphere to the cerebral hemisphere is observed, while the cerebellum worm of M. h. lydius is more flattened. The factors affecting the diversity of brain complexity could include allometry, phylogeny and natural selection. The accelerated morphological evolution of the "guentheri" group can be explained by the fragmentation of the range and habitats. Details    Download PDF

Large mammal faunas of the European part of Russia in Anthropocene Sablin M.V. P. 58-64 The article presents the results of a study of a unique osteological material from archaeological sites and settlements in the European part of Russia. In total, more than 119 thousand bones of large Anthropocene mammals were studied. The closest analogue of the Early Pleistocene faunal complex Muhkai 2 is a community of animals from the dry African savannah. Data to distinguish between the early and late (1.1 Mya) stages of the Taman fauna are presented. It was confirmed that in the Late Pleistocene, the climate was responsible for changes in the number of large mammals and their habitats. It was shown that the domestication of the dog occurred in the early Upper Paleolithic, and in the Holocene, the indigenous European population of Canis familiaris was largely replaced by migrants from the east. Data are given that support that throughout the Anthropocene at archaeological sites and settlements in the European part of Russia, there was a practice of humans total utilization of animals they had extracted or raised. Details    Download PDF

Comparative analysis of the lists of hunting mammals of the countries of the Baltic region and Belarus Saveljev A.P., Lissovsky A.A., Kozlov Y.A. P. 65-70 The management of biological resources, which have important utilitarian value, should be based on current knowledge about their distribution, abundance, and taxonomic status. The data on the dynamics of distribution ranges and species abundance are easily available in the literature. However, it would seem that the simplest information — the lists of game species and their regional differences — is difficult for mammalogists to access. We compared the modern lists of hunting mammals of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, and the bordering region of the Russian Federation with respect to their quantitative composition, structure and taxonomic verification. General trends and national features of the lists are noted. The recent and historical changes in the lists of objects of legal hunting are analysed. Details    Download PDF

Adaptation of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) body weight and thickness of the limbs to snow conditions in Scandinavia Englund J.K.Å. P. 71-78 Intraspecific variation in body weight is a common phenomenon in many mammals and is largely related to variation in quality and abundance of foods. The amount of food in the spring–summer period may affect the growth of the young animals and in winter time affect the fat reserves both affecting the body weight. In this study I examined the winter body weight in adult red foxes Vulpes vulpes in five areas in Scandinavia. The amount of food varied strongly between years in the three northern areas. The winter body weight also varied between years, but this was not a result of that foxes in years with plenty of food were fatter. The reason was differences between years in the proportion of foxes born in years with varying amount of voles. Foxes in the north down to the central part of Sweden are of the same size at least the phenotypes. In spite of that foxes are heavier southwards. The reason is that foxes in the north have thinner bones, probably an adaptation to the amount of snow. In Scania in the most southern part of Sweden the foxes are the largest in Scandinavia and therefore the heaviest. Danish foxes are not as heavy as foxes in Scania. When studying the weights of wild animals in areas where food sometimes is extremely scarce, such as near the limits of the species range, it is important to treat data from different birth cohorts separately. To ignore that may result in misleading conclusions. Details    Download PDF

Cases of melanism in mountain hare (Lepus timidus) in Yakutia Boeskorov G.G., Vinokurov V.N., Shchelchkova M.V., Boeskorov V.G. P. 79-84 Cases of melanism in the mountain hare Lepus timidus in the territory of Yakutia were analyzed. The highest frequency of this rare phenomenon was observed in the basin of the Vilyuy River, with at least nine cases over the last 50 years. It was proposed that this phenomenon was the result of increased mutagenesis in this territory, due to consequence of the features of the natural geochemical background and anthropogenic pollution. Details    Download PDF

Gastrointestinal nematodes of European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in Russia Kuznetsov D.N., Romashova N.B., Romashov B.V. P. 85-93 The species composition of gastrointestinal nematodes parasitizing European roe deer Capreolus capreolus in Russia was studied. Fourteen individuals of C. capreolus from three regions of European Russia (Ryazan, Tver and Voronezh) were examined at necropsy in the period of 2013–2019 for the nematode infections. Beside this, the species identification of nematodes collected from four individuals of C. capreolus in Voronezh State Nature Reserve in 1980s was performed. Fifteen species of nematodes were detected: Ashworthius sidemi, Bunostomum trigonocephalum, Chabertia ovina, Mazamastrongylus dagestanica, Nematodirus filicollis, Ostertagia antipini (including minor morph “Ostertagia lyrataeformis”), Ostertagia leptospicularis, Ostertagia ostertagi, Spiculopteragia asymmetrica (including minor morph “Spiculopteragia quadrispiculata”), Spiculopteragia spiculoptera, Teladorsagia circumcincta, Trichostrongylus axei, Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Trichostrongylus vitrinus and Trichuris globulosa. The biggest variety of nematodes (12 species) has been noted in abomasa. Four species (N. filicollis, T. axei, T. colubriformis and T. vitrinus) were detected both in abomasa and small intestines, but the first one prevailed in small intestines whereas Trichostrongylus spp. – in abomasa. This is the first detection of S. asymmetrica (as well as its minor morph “S. quadrispiculata”) in European roe deer in Russia. Asian nematode A. sidemi was found in two regions (Tver and Voronezh) in majority of roe deer individuals studied in 2013–2019, but was not found in the samples collected in 1980s, that confirms the trend for spreading of this parasite, noted in Europe last years. Details    Download PDF

Small mammal communities of the Mongolian Gobi Region: diversity and impacts of mining Shar S., Moroldoev I.V., Lkhagvasuren D. P. 94-98 In the Gobi region of Mongolia, mining activities have developed rapidly over the last 20 years. The development of the mining sector is important for the economic growth of Mongolia, but local communities have always been critical of its negative impact. The purpose of our study was to determine the mining effects on the small mammal community in the Gobi region. In order to achieve this goal, we estimated the species diversity and abundance of small mammal populations in the vicinity of the Tavan Tolgoi and Oyu Tolgoi mines in Umnugobi aimag of Mongolia in August 2017 and in August 2018. Generally, mining activities in the Gobi region have negative impacts on small mammal communities, and at the same time effects differ on the different species of small mammals. Details    Download PDF

The need for consistent data collection for large-scale comparative studies illustrated by the study of morphology of the red fox Vulpes vulpes Englund J.K.Å., Elmeros M., Österdahl L.E.W. P. 99-103 The size of mammals is often given as the head and body length (HBL). The condylobasal length of the skull (CBL) is also used as a measure of the size of mammals. The HBL in small mammals is mostly measured from the tip of the nose to the root of the tail. In species like whales, human beings and elephants, the measurements are not comparable with those from small mammals which in fact do not matter. On the contrary, it is of prime importance for the measurements taken within the same species to be comparable. If we deal with incomparable data from different authors or museums, it may result in false conclusions. In the present paper this problem is illustrated by the red fox Vulpes vulpes. The HBL in Scandinavian red fox is 4.43 to 4.54 times the CBL. Data in the literature indicates that European foxes outside Sweden have a HBL 4.54 to 4.96 times their CBL. The difference is probably an artifact of different measuring techniques. Therefore we believe that CBL gives better information about the size of the foxes. However, the length of the skull is far from ideal here, since the proportion HBL/CBL seems to vary geographically. We suggest that what has been measured and how the measurements have been taken must be carefully reported by the authors. The scientists would know then which data can certainly be used for an extended meta-analysis. Details    Download PDF